By Special Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: All eyes are now on the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the wake of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s abrupt reversal on the Punjab polls on Wednesday.
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had originally announced April 30 as the date for elections to the Punjab Assembly but on Wednesday, the Commission postponed the polls till October 8, 2023. Interestingly, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial had just a day earlier, made it clear that the Supreme Court would interfere in case the polls were delayed. The apex court had earlier invoked suo-moto jurisdiction to ensure that general elections to both provincial assemblies are held within 90 days.
Now, the electoral watchdog’s volte-face has supposedly thrown the ball back to the SC’s court, renewing debate whether the top court – which was divided over ideological lines – would be able to compel the Election Commission of Pakistan and the executive authorities to hold elections of two provincial assemblies immediately.
The twist comes at a time of heightened political acrimony, especially on the election of the two provincial assemblies. The ruling coalition had been demanding Chief Justice Bandial should constitute a full court to hear the matter regarding the delay in elections. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Faisal Chaudhry also agreed with the assertion that a full court should take up the matter and decide whether the constitution or the “law of the jungle” would prevail in Pakistan.
The political observers believe that it was high time that the jurists of the apex court rise above their egos and decide the matter. They are also of the view that now the caretaker government’s legitimacy would also be called into question, recalling that the five-member larger bench had maintained that the caretaker government had no authority to spend public funds beyond 120 days of its tenure. Now it remains to be seen as to how the caretaker government in Punjab continues considering the constitution as well as the SC ruling.
The legal fraternity opines that it would have been better for the Imran-led PTI if the Punjab Assembly is restored, allowing it to control the largest province till the general election.
The ECP postponed the elections for the crucial provincial assembly after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government refused to provide the necessary funds, security and polling staff citing financial constraints.
Former prime minister and current main opposition leader Imran Khan has condemned the ECP’s move, calling it a violation of country’s constitution. “By postponing Punjab elections till Oct ECP has violated the Constitution. Today everyone must stand behind the legal community – the judiciary & lawyers – with expectation that they will protect Constitution. For if this is accepted today then it is the end of Rule of Law in Pak. We dissolved our 2 provincial legislatures with expectation that elections would be held in 90 days as clearly given in our Constitution. We did not take this action to allow a bunch of fascists to impose a reign of terror, violating the Constitution & Rule of Law,” he said.
By postponing Punjab elections till Oct ECP has violated the Constitution. Today everyone must stand behind the legal community – the judiciary & lawyers – with expectation that they will protect Constitution. For if this is accepted today then it is the end of Rule of Law in Pak
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 22, 2023
Reacting to the ECP move, ex-senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said, “Delaying of the elections by the ECP is a blatant mockery of the constitution. ECP surely has decided this on the wishes of the govt and the establishment which are terrified of the polls. With already a tarnished reputation sadly ECP now has no credibility left.”
Delaying of the elections by the ECP is a blatant mockery of the constitution. ECP surely has decided this on the wishes of the govt and the establishment which are terrified of the polls. With already a tarnished reputation sadly ECP now has no credibility left.
— Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar (@mustafa_nawazk) March 22, 2023
“Constitutional overreach’ in view of SC judgment”
Lawyer Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar while commenting on the ECP move maintained that in the presence of clear provisions of Article 112 read with 224 (2) of the constitution as well as in view of the SC judgment, such a postponement and rescheduling could legally be considered to be constitutional overreach on the part of the ECP and totally against the spirit and beyond their mandate given in the constitution. He further held that the rescheduling of the Punjab election schedule was beyond the mandate of the ECP both in view of the constitutional provisions and the Election Act 2017.
If there was any need to change or reschedule the election under any circumstances, he added, it could only be changed or amended or extended by the ECP with the prior concurrence of the President, and not otherwise as clearly mentioned in the language of section 58 of the Election Act 2017. The lawyer further said that there was a strong chance that the ECP’s order would be struck down by the apex court once challenged or brought to its notice with regard to the court’s continuation of earlier proceedings.
The ECP decision came on the heels of a deepening political turmoil in the country, which has been struggling with a battered economy on the brink of default. In January, Imran Khan’s PTI got the assemblies in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces dissolved as part of their attempts to compel the federal government to call snap national elections.
Earlier in March, President Alvi announced elections in Punjab on April 30 following the SC judgment that ordered elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces within 90 days, as per the constitution. Pakistan traditionally holds the provincial and national polls simultaneously. Shehbaz Sharif and his governing coalition of more than 10 parties are of the opinion that they want to hold the national and provincial voting on the same day.
Pakistani lawyer and columnist Asad Rahim Khan called the Commission’s decision to delay the Punjab polls a “mockery of the law” and “destructive for democracy”. “The ECP shuttering the polls is violative of the Constitution, a mockery of the law, and contemptuous of the Supreme Court. It’s also destructive for democracy. This goes beyond voting preferences now: the principle – of the freedom to elect one’s representatives – is at stake,” he posted on twitter.
The ECP shuttering the polls is violative of the Constitution, a mockery of the law, and contemptuous of the Supreme Court.
It’s also destructive for democracy. This goes beyond voting preferences now: the principle – of the freedom to elect one’s representatives – is at stake.
— Asad Rahim Khan (@AsadRahim) March 22, 2023
Imran Khan was shot in the leg during a public rally in Wazirabad, a city in central Punjab, in November 2022. Since then, he has largely confined himself to his residence in Lahore, also capital of Punjab province. Earlier this month, his home in Zaman Park Lahore saw clashes between the security forces and his supporters. Islamabad, the federal capital also witnessed similar clashes when Khan made his court appearance.
